John Walker on the MacLaurin Trust
Ayr Rotary Club welcomed as guest speaker, John Walker, who kindly agreed to provide a talk entitled ’The Maclaurin – A philanthropic love letter’ in relation to ‘The Maclaurin Trust’, of which John is the Trust’s current Chairman.
He is an Ayrshire man, a law graduate of The University of Aberdeen, and now a local solicitor working in Kilpatrick and Walker, the practice which he co-founded over 25 years ago.
John engaging with his audience
John has acted for the Charity Sector at district and nationally since returning to work in Ayr in 1987 for the firm of Kilpatrick and Wilson, and is a Legal Member of the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland, sitting in Charity, Transport, Local Taxation, Housing and Property cases.
He is a holder of the South Ayrshire Provost’s Medal which was to him in awarded in 2006, a team leader facilitating the Ayr Flower Show for 15 years, and supports many other voluntary organisations locally with deep commitment to the Ayrshire community.
The MacLaurin trust was founded as a bequest from the late Mrs Mary Ellen MacLaurin, who, in her will, provided that curators appointed within the will should, within 5 years of her death, build an art gallery/ museum in Ayr to be called the MacLaurin Art Gallery in memory of her husband.
Premises were identified at Rozelle House and the Trust was granted a tenancy of the East wing of Rozelle House and curators were given powers to upkeep the art gallery and to purchase paintings and other exhibits.
The Trust has built up one of the best collections of 20th and now 21st century art in the country, part of which collection is exhibited from time to time and is lent to other galleries. The gallery also provides hanging space for various local arts groups and attracts exhibitions from far and wide.
The role of the MacLaurin Trust is to enhance cultural provision for the citizens of the former Royal Burgh of Ayr and the wider community, by the provision of an art gallery and museum for the benefit of artists and visitors.
The Trusts believes in supporting artists at local, national and international level at all stages in their careers through ensuring the provision of exhibitions and the purchase of works of art.
John showed his audience slides of artwork from renowned artists, from the challenging abstract to the obvious portraits. He confirmed that the famous Scottish artist Peter Howson OBE is the Trust’s patron.
Dr Jimmy Begg gave a worthy vote of thanks.
